The Benefits of Professional Wildlife Removal Services vs DIY Methods
The Benefits of Professional Wildlife Removal Services vs DIY Methods
An unfortunate reality of owning a home is that you have to deal with the occasional pest infestation, or even a wildlife problem. Critters like raccoons, squirrels, bats, and more will break their way into your home, often choosing your attic as a nesting spot. In addition to critters in your attic, scavengers like raccoons, opossums and foxes are known to knock over your outdoor trash cans, throwing trash across the lawn. Groundhogs will burrow underneath your home’s foundation, causing it to crack and settle. Moles will dig tunnels in your lawn, ripping up the grass and destabilizing the soil. When dealing with nuisance wildlife concerns, it’s important to act as quickly as possible, as the problem will not go away with time; it will get worse. When dealing with a nuisance wildlife infestation, many homeowners want to go the DIY route initially. However, wildlife removal presents many challenges and dangers, and should always be left to professionals. If you need nuisance wildlife removal services in Westchester County, Putnam County, or Dutchess County, contact the experts at Westchester Wildlife today for a FREE estimate at (800) 273-6673!
The Risks and Limitations of DIY Wildlife Removal
Removing an animal from your property may sound tempting, but it poses several risks that you might not consider. Raccoons are armed with sharp claws and teeth, and are known to lash out and injure people, especially if they are accompanied by their young. Raccoons are adept at hiding their babies deep inside the insulation, and the untrained eye can miss one or two of the babies when evicting a raccoon family. Raccoons are also a common carrier of the rabies virus.
Bats also carry rabies, and even handling a bat can be counted as a potential rabies exposure. Bats are also endangered and under protection from federal law, and mishandling or killing them can incur serious fees. Skunks are not easy to remove, as they will use their signature spray defense, which causes a horrible odor that is very difficult to get rid of. Squirrels and groundhogs can also become aggressive when cornered, and they can spread diseases like tularemia and leptospirosis. Even removing bat guano can pose a risk, as bat guano contains the spores that cause the fungal lung infection histoplasmosis.
In addition to the safety risks, you might run into limitations when attempting to remove wildlife on your own. Store bought traps can be ineffective if not placed correctly, especially with groundhogs. Many “repellents”, from sprays to flashing light devices and noise makers are either ineffective, or only effective for a short time. Wildlife can adapt to lights and sounds easily, as soon as they realize it doesn’t pose an actual threat.
The Advantages of Hiring a Professional Wildlife Removal Service
Hiring a professional wildlife removal service to deal with your wildlife problem offers several advantages over doing it yourself. Professional wildlife technicians are armed with professional equipment and traps, including proper safety equipment. Professional wildlife removal technicians also ensure that all federal and local laws and ordinances are followed during the process, and that all animals involved are treated humanely. Relying on professional services also minimizes the risk of disease transmission, protecting you from rabies, histoplasmosis, and other zoonotic diseases.
When you hire a nuisance wildlife professional, they can provide you with long term solutions that address the underlying problem. This can involve exclusions, seal-outs, repairing leaks, fixing wildlife damage, and more.
Cost Comparison: DIY vs. Professional Services
Many people jump at the chance to do DIY wildlife removal because it costs less in the short term, but did you know that professional wildlife removal services can actually save you much MORE money in the long run?
DIY efforts may have cheaper upfront costs, but because DIY wildlife removal is often ineffective, you might be stuck paying that cost over and over again. Critters like raccoons are armed with seriously dangerous claws and teeth, and if your attempt to remove a raccoon goes south, you might have to pay for medical bills. If you remove the wildlife from your home or yard improperly, they could come back and create even more structural damage, costing you more money for repairs. Professional wildlife removal services ensure that your wildlife problem is safely dealt with, and your property is safeguarded against future infestations, making it much cheaper in the long run.
When to Call a Professional
Knowing which situations require a wildlife removal professional can save you time and energy. Wildlife professionals are most helpful for dealing with animals that are living on your property or spending lots of time near your property. Raccoons, squirrels and bats living in your attic, a venomous snake in your garden or crawl space, moles tearing up your yard, a skunk building a den under your porch, all of these situations would require a wildlife professional. However, if a raccoon is just simply passing through your yard, or if a squirrel is running across your fence, you can wait it out and see if they stick around before contacting a wildlife removal company. Most of the time, without any food sources or easy shelters, critters in your yard will just move on.
Wildlife removal professionals also do not deal with domestic animals like dogs and cats, or animals that are on public property like roads or parks, as both of these situations are problems for animal control. However, if an animal dies on your property, then dead animal removal does fall under wildlife removal services.
If you need professional wildlife removal in Westchester County, Putnam County, or Dutchess County, contact the experts at Westchester Wildlife. Our team of highly trained wildlife technicians are armed with the tools, training, and experience to safely and humanely remove nuisance critters from your property. Get in touch with our office today to get scheduled at (800) 273-6673!